. >>> right now on "andrea mitchell reports" countdown to denver. president obama andmittromneypreparefor their first debate. both sides trying to lower expectations. >> governor romney, he's a good debater. i'm just okay. >> president obama is a very -- he's a very gifted speaker. the man's been on the national stage for many years. he's an experienced debater. he's done these kinds of debates before. this is mitt's first time on this kind of a stage. >> flashpoint libya, the white house on the defensive after reports of both security and intelligence nurse in benghazi before that terror attack. >> standing up, sitting down. >> which ever one you like. >> there you go. >> do whatever they tell us. >> the white house line is you heard the president say, osama bin laden is dead, al qaeda is done, everything is fine in the middle east. this, obviously, contradicts -- ther series of events contradicts that campaign slogan. so, the fact is, that this was clearly an act of terror committed by people who were pretty well trained jihadists. >> more carnage in afghanistan. the taliban